An Insider’s View of Seven Top College Campuses

Here at CollegeVine, one of our jobs is to provide insight into some of the top colleges in the country. We pride ourselves on having a diverse base of alums and employees who are currently attending some wonderful schools all over the country. This network provides unique insider access to details about daily life, campus services, and more.

This year, we decided to begin a new series over on our CollegeVine Instagram account. We’re asking members of the CollegeVine family to let us tag along for the day and get a sneak peak of what they do and see along the way. Our guest photographers provide us with a glimpse of what students can expect at top colleges across the country. This insight is especially valuable because it comes from students themselves, not from the college website or professional Instagram account.

For a look at how members of the CollegeVine family shared their experiences at seven top colleges in the country, keep reading!

We were lucky enough to get two different students to share their experiences at Cornell with us. Amy is a senior at Cornell and works as an Admissions Consultant and Essay Specialist for CollegeVine. Samara, also an Admissions Consultant and Essay Specialist for CollegeVine, is a freshman at Cornell.

Amy shared this shot with us of her favorite breakfast stop around campus, CT Bagel. Now that looks like a coffee menu to power you through any day!

A post shared by CollegeVine (@collegevine) on Mar 22, 2017 at 10:24am PDT

Amy also shared this gorgeous shot of the view from Olin Library. She notes that Cornell definitely has a beautiful campus, and if this picture is any indication, we’d have to agree. The old brick buildings and slate roofs sure are picturesque.

A post shared by CollegeVine (@collegevine) on Mar 16, 2017 at 9:10am PDT

The buildings aren’t the only scenic feature of Cornell’s campus. Samara took this great shot of Beebe Lake on her walk to class at Cornell. She noted that the recent snow storm forced Cornell’s first snow day since 1994!

Jack Nicastro, one of our CollegeVine SAT tutors, was kind enough to show us around the campus of Vanderbilt University where he is currently a freshman. Jake took over our Instagram to show us some of his favorite spots around campus.

A post shared by CollegeVine (@collegevine) on Mar 20, 2017 at 8:51am PDT

In his first picture, Jack gives us a look inside The Ingram Commons. Often referred to as simply “The Commons,” it is the epicenter of freshman life. Ten freshman houses surround The Commons, and all compete in The Commons Cup as a fun, team-spirit competition.

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Jack also provided this super cool shot of the Nashville Parthenon, located at Centennial Park, across from Vanderbilt. This is the only full-scale replica of the Athens Parthenon in the world, and it was featured in the Percy Jackson movies. We had no idea this existed! What a cool sight to behold every day. Thanks, Jack!

Kirill was our gracious photo host at Columbia University this winter. He is a political science major there and is also a member of the Columbia Heavyweight Rowing team and the Columbia Daily Spectator (the main newspaper on campus).

A post shared by CollegeVine (@collegevine) on Mar 8, 2017 at 6:27am PST

Kirill began our tour with this glimpse of Alfred Lerner Hall. Inside Lerner is one of the dining options on campus, and Kirill reports that its unique architecture might be divisive, but its food offerings are not.

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Our last picture from Kirill is this amazing view from his dorm room. What a nice sight to fall asleep to every night!

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Sarah starts our tour of UC Berkeley with an inside peak at the Student Advocates Office in the ASUC. Here, she works as a financial aid caseworker, helping to represent students who have issues with their aid. She reports that the office is open every day and that students can walk in to get the help they need.

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Sarah is clearly a busy student, since her next picture shows the inside of the Berkeley Food Pantry, where she volunteers weekly. Here, free, nutritious food is offered for food-insecure students to help them with basic needs. It sounds like Berkeley definitely has some great student services in place.

A post shared by CollegeVine (@collegevine) on Mar 3, 2017 at 2:57pm PST

Next, Sam gives us a peak of his field trip with his class, “The Art and Science of Engineering Design.” He couldn’t take any pictures inside the Tesla motors factory, so we can only guess what sorts of amazing technology it holds.

A post shared by CollegeVine (@collegevine) on Mar 1, 2017 at 9:38am PST

Adrienne is currently studying Arabic at Yale. She took this picture of a little study session over lunch and reports that she’ll be headed to Morocco this summer as part of Yale’s Arabic program. We hope she’ll share some pictures of that too!

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Adrienne finished her day at the New Haven Free Public Library, where she attended a reading from an English professor and her students. Adrienne reiterated the professor’s point that “it’s great to have an event where Yalies can come together with the greater New Haven community to get to know one another and share ideas.”

So there you have it. Thanks to our awesome CollegeVine team members who volunteered to share their days with us. We love these inside glimpses of daily life on top college campuses across the country.

If you’re a high school student interested in attending a top college but unsure how to present yourself on your college applications to maximize your chances, consider the CollegeVine Elite Universities Applications Assistance service, where you will get paired with an Apps Consultant who is an expert in selective admissions and who can provide extended attention to your essays and extra time to making sure that your admissions narrative is unique and effective.

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Kate Koch-Sundquist is a graduate of Pomona College where she studied sociology, psychology, and writing before going on to receive an M.Ed. from Lesley University. After a few forays into living abroad and afloat (sometimes at the same time), she now makes her home north of Boston where she works as a content writer and, with her husband, raises two young sons who both inspire her and challenge her on a daily basis.